Sunday, April 15, 2007

THE PAGE OF SWORDS

TODAY'S CARD IS The Page of Swords. This version is from The Via Tarot (in which Pages are called Princesses), art by Susan Jameson and book by John Bonner:

For comparison, here's The Page of Swords in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck:

THE PAGE OF SWORDS: I tend to identify with this card, as she's said sometimes to be a child of difficult parentage who ultimately prevails. (The former is most certainly true for me, but the latter still is yet to be seen. :-D) It is intriguing for me that the figure on The Via Tarot's Princess of Swords is "Medusa haired" as Medusa has been a favorite mythological figure of mine since early childhood, though I must admit I would see Medusa more as a mature Queen, than a youthful Page. However, in The Thoth Tarot (which The Via Tarot was designed as a continuation/extension of) the Princesses are much more powerful and active than pages usually are so I can somewhat see Medusa fitting with this Princess of Swords.

DIFFERENT OR LESS COMMON, EVEN QUIRKY MEANINGS FOR (i.e. the below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with this card):

May indicate someone who had abusive or addictive parents/caretakers.

Your mind is quite powerful. Be sure you do not mesmerize yourself with your myriad wonderings and intensities, especially the negative ones.

Something you went through in the past may help you now. What does this current situation call to mind?

It may be that what you are thinking is causing this mood. Apply yourself to examining the sense of what you are thinking and you just might "vanquish" this negative state.

If you are isolating, it may be an instinctive move towards learning new things on your own before trying them out.

Your unusual view of things may make you appear a bit odd, off-putting, or even scary to some folk. If it seems important to communicate, try "dialing back" a bit on the amount and/or intensity of your presentation.

You can do it, no matter how embattled you may feel.

You are able right now to cut through others' obscuration and pretense, and get to the central issue(s).

Someone who enjoys verbal sparring and argumentation and is probably quite good at it.

The Princess of Swords above in The Via Tarot might make an excellent lawyer, or advocate for children. (In decks other than this, I'd say this would be more likely about The Queen of Swords.)

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‘til next time, keep exploring your mind's power wisely and enjoying The Tarot,Roswila[aka: Patricia Kelly]****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****

PLEASE NOTE: All photos on this blog designated as cards in Roswila's "The Found Tarot" are by Patricia Kelly (a/k/a Roswila)

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"...No student will ever exhaust the possibilities of this extraordinary symbolic alphabet, any more than one person can exhaust the possibilities of a language." BOTA Tarot Course

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"Tarot cards are like people. We get to know them more or less well, but never completely. And like people, they change over time and with experience of them. This is not to say we can't really know a card. Anymore than one would say one doesn't really know one's best friend or mate or lover. Simply that with these cards we form, as with people, many-faceted, living, changing relationships." Roswila

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MY TAROT BACKGROUND: I've studied, collected and taught Tarot for almost 40 years, collecting many, many notes about meanings, approaches, and layouts I've seen or developed for the cards. I do not usually post the more traditional meanings as I learned them, but only those that are -- at least to me -- less common as they occur to me (many with a decidedly psychological bent). I ultimately offer Tarot meaning and other Tarot-related posts hoping to contribute to the rich and constantly evolving universe of The Tarot. But even more so, to encourage you to explore the wide variety of Tarot art, and maybe even to learn to read the Tarot for yourself and reap its rich rewards.

IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION TO BEGINNERS: What I share here is not intended to be a comprehensive look at any one card. These simply are what I consider to be somewhat less usual ways I've come across of relating to a card, both in terms of image and meanings. Books and web sites abound for the more traditional and common meanings of the Tarot cards. If you are a beginner, I highly encourage you try some of the links listed below, and as resources at the bottoms of posts here. Tarot is an extremely diverse and exciting field.

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"...faced with silent pictures destined to make him think, his task consists in discovering in them the things that are hidden within himself." – Oswald Wirth in "Tarot of the Magicians"

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"I like the tarot because it works like poetry and because you don’t really have to ‘believe in’ anything. It’s there to be used. The symbols are remarkably durable and beautiful; they float out to encompass all kinds of meanings.” – Alice Notley, poet

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"The Tarot is an ever progressing rendition or map of the inner structures of consciousness. It is a language in itself, a universal language, and its individual cards form a precise alphabet spelled out again and again in new terms to awaken those who seek to know the Self." -- John Starr Cooke, designer/channeler of The New Tarot for the Aquarian Age.

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"I am certain of nothing but of the holiness of the Heart's affection and the truth of the Imagination." John Keats, poet

About Me

Retired, I'm grateful to indulge in daily blogging, taking digital photos, writing poetry every day, and other creative efforts as the spirit grabs me. I also enjoy reading my poems and sometimes improvising on one of the musical instruments in my collection (e.g. didjeridu or kalimba), in our retirement community's regular Talent Shows. And I also occasionally play a role in one of
our radio plays, written by a resident,
and read on stage as if an actual radio show.

"Ganesh dances joyfully,
each step out of now into now again;
each footprint filling to overflowing with kindness.
Remover of Obstacles, clear me out of my own way;
teach me how to dance lightly through life,
how to spill over with love."